‘Abbás Sháhqulí
‘Abbás Sháhqulí | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1906 |
| Died | January 18, 1967 |
| NSA member | Iran ???? - 1967 |
Colonel ‘Abbás Sháhqulí (1906 - January 18, 1967) was a Persian Bahá’í who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran. In his career he was an attorney and a military officer.[1]
Biography[edit]
Sháhqulí was introduced to the Bahá’í Faith in Rasht in 1927 and after becoming a Bahá’í he was an active member of the community serving in several administrative capacities,[2] notably serving on the National Pioneering Committee of Persia during the Forty-Five Month Plan from 1946 to 1950.[2] He was also instrumental to early efforts to develop the publication of Bahá’í literature in Iran assisting the national Bahá’í Publishing Committee.[2]
In 1953 he was part of the legal defense team for Mohammad Mosaddegh, the deposed Prime Minister of Iran, and the defense successfully secured a verdict which saved Mosaddegh from the death penalty. After the trial Sháhqulí immediately retired from the military on the orders of Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran.[3] He assisted with efforts to protect the Bahá’í community of Tehran during a wave of persecution in 1955 and 1956,[2] and in the late 1950's Sháhqulí was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran and he served as secretary for several years.[2]
In 1959 Sháhqulí notably corresponded with Eleanor Roosevelt in his capacity as secretary of the National Assembly,[4] and in 1963 he attended the First International Convention in the Holy Land and cast a vote in the establishment of the Universal House of Justice.[5]
In later life Sháhqulí was active in teaching the Faith in addition to achieving success in his professional career. In 1967 he suffered a brain hemorrhage and slipped into a coma passing away in early January. His funeral was broadcast on television in Iran and attended by six thousand people,[1] and the Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after his passing:
DEEPLY GRIEVED PASSING OUTSTANDING PROMOTER FAITH ABBAS SHAHQULI GRAVE LOSS PERSIAN COMMUNITY ADVISE HOLDING MEMORIAL COMMUNITIES COUNTRY HE SERVED SO DEVOTEDLY COMPETENTLY ASSURE RELATIVES FRIENDS FERVENT PRAYERS HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HIS SOUL[6]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Baha'i News (1967). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 434, Pg(s) 3. View as PDF.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1974). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 14 (1963-1968), Pg(s) 378. View as PDF.
- ↑ Bahram Choubine tr. Ahang Rabbani, Dr. Muhammad Musaddiq and the Baha'is, self-published, 2009, p 49
- ↑ Baha'i News (1959). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 340, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
- ↑ Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá’í World Centre. ISBN 0-85398-350-X., p 410.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1974). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 14 (1963-1968), Pg(s) 379. View as PDF.
